


Good Company

by Skullharvester



Series: One-Shots (Psychonauts) [1]
Category: Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28909797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester
Summary: A sweet little love story between Dr. Loboto and a psychic he met during his time at the Motherlobe base.
Relationships: Caligosto Loboto/Original Male Character(s)
Series: One-Shots (Psychonauts) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120277
Kudos: 3





	Good Company

**Author's Note:**

> I found this old one-shot I wrote a while back in my old fanfiction folders, so I cleaned it up and decided to share it because it melted my heart and I wrote the dang thing! Obviously, this was written in anticipation for Psychonauts 2, once it was announced. I forgot this was even a ship I created.
> 
> Enjoy and have fun!
> 
> If you liked this tale, please drop me a kudos and/or a comment to let me know if you'd like to see more!
> 
> Thank you, and have a wonderful night!

A steady stream of giggles and piano notes filled the dimly lit room as two older men sat side-by-side at the piano bench, trying their best to play to the tune of an old television show’s theme song together while in a drunken stupor.

Setting aside his near-empty wine glass after taking another sip, Gregory reached across the keys. “No, no,” he said with an amused smirk. “Over here.” He played out the appropriate notes for the next part of the song, where the doctor had unknowingly failed.

“Eheheheh~,” Dr. Loboto chortled with an unflattering snort at the end, burying his face into the musician’s shoulder while his face turned redder. “I told you so! If none of the three tutors my mother had hired when I was a child could teach me to play the piano, I don’t think anybody else could.”

The doctor finally picked his head up, grinning mischievously at his impromptu instructor. “Though I did try to set them on fire. Back when I still had my psychic powers, of course.”

Gregory’s tired eyes widened with mirth. “You know, I’m surprised you and Lili don’t get along better.”

The piano keys made several terrible and abrupt noises all at once when Dr. Loboto used them as rests for his elbows, so that he could prop up his head. Due to his distinct lack of a jawline, he kept having to re-adjust his hands to maintain the position. “Bah. I don’t see how you can stand that little ragamuffin.”

“She’s quite sweet once you get to know her. It just takes her a while to open up to others.” Gregory’s eyes flitted to the depressed keys, mildly concerned of damage being done to his instrument. “Indeed, I’m sure you’ll befriend several people during your stay here at the Motherlobe, however long that may be.” 

There was a sudden hint of wistfulness in the tone of Gregory’s voice. Perhaps he was pondering when the two of them might part ways. “You’ve a very charming personality, doctor.”

Dr. Loboto nudged the other man’s elbow with his own. He used his real arm, thankfully, as the metallic one would have likely hurt a lot. “You’re making me blush.”

A lopsided grin spread across Gregory’s face. “You were already blushing.”

“E-Eh? Was I?” Dr. Loboto tapped his bottom lip with the tip of a claw thoughtfully. “You could’ve told me sooner.”

As if looking for an easy distraction, Gregory resumed playing the song from the beginning, with his eyes now focused on the keys. “I suppose I was too busy feeling enchanted by your presence,” he murmured, the smirk never leaving his lips.

The words made the doctor swoon briefly. Well, maybe having drank half a bottle of wine contributed some, too. Regardless, it was very surreal to hear someone, anyone, say those kinds of things to him and sound earnest about it.

Dr. Loboto was starting to wonder if he were in a dream that he would soon wake up from. It all seemed very much like something he used to dream up during his younger years. What he imagined romance was like. Truth be told, he never got the chance to be the object of somebody else’s affection before. 

Who wanted to give a valentine’s day card to the boy who showed up to school every day in a sailor suit and silly glasses? Would anybody ever desire to “go steady” with the boy with the creepy smile and no chin? Could even a mother say “I love you” to a boy who came home one day with a head wrapped in bloody bandages that covered nasty, jagged scars?

He didn’t know. The closest thing he ever had was stories in books and on television, and the occasional glimpse of a happy couple out in public spending time with one another. He always liked to hope that maybe one day, a love like that would find him, but it never happened. Eventually, he just forgot.

_Some men are just married to their work,_ his father used to say. _Those are the LUCKY ones!_ he’d add with a laugh.

In all his years of dentistry, though, Caligosto Loboto never felt lucky. Just lonely. Very, very lonely.

Until the sound of a voice mingled with the music being played, he didn’t even realize he’d nodded off. “Hm…?” he asked sleepily, his mismatched mechanical eyes brightening in the process of waking up.

“I said: I hate to sound so dire, but you’re certainly one of the ones I’ll miss at the end of this era,” Gregory repeated, trying to make that sound as positive as a statement like that could.

It took a while for what he’d said to fully register, and Dr. Loboto had to play it back in his addled mind a few times. “Just how long do you plan on livin’, exactly?”

“Forever, I suppose,” came the reply, rather matter-of-factually and with a shrug of the shoulders. “Not that I’m particularly thrilled about it at times.”

A few beats later, and Dr. Loboto decided it was a joke. “Hah!”

“I’m serious.” Gregory turned his head, smirking once again as if he were challenging the doctor to prove him wrong.

“Yeah, well…” There was a long silence as Dr. Loboto considered the idea. “Me, too.”

One of the musician’s snowy white eyebrows arched with intrigue.

“Oh?” He glanced back at the piano keys for a moment to ensure his hands would find the right correct keys for the following notes, then turned his attention back to the other man. “And how do you plan on accomplishing this?”

Dr. Loboto lifted his prosthetic arm and wiggled its claws. “Guess I’ll just keep replacing pieces as they fall off! It’s been working so far!”

Gregory laughed, trying not to wince when his gloved fingers slipped from the piano keys when he was caught off guard by the response. “I…” He paused, uncertain of whether his confession might be appropriate. “I really enjoy your morbid sense of humor, Caligosto.”

The compliment made the doctor’s ever-present toothy grin all the brighter. “Can I ask you something serious?” He scooted closer to Gregory’s side of the bench, at least trying to be a little subtle about it in the process.

“Yes?”

“Do you love me?”

The music trailed off rather suddenly, which instantly made the mood a lot more awkward. 

As strange as it sounded, Gregory actually needed a moment to think on the question. It was true that the two of them had spent the last several weeks playfully flirting with one another—a rather refreshing experience after spending so many years as a lonely widow—but a part of him had already made peace with the idea that perhaps that’s all that it amounted to: just a bit of harmless teasing that would eventually pass once the doctor’s business at the Motherlobe was finished. 

Gregory had decided he would enjoy the experience while it lasted, and fully expected it to end as abruptly as it’d appeared. That was what most of his life experiences were like once he’d lived past a single lifetime: fleeting moments that weren’t meant to endure. At this point, he knew that expecting anything be any more than that was a crushing disappointment waiting to happen.

He never actually anticipated what he might say or do if his lighthearted courtship with the doctor wound up being more than temporary. “Caligosto, I don’t—"

With slumped shoulders and a look of defeat, Dr. Loboto gently patted the musician’s upper arm with his real hand in a forgiving gesture. “It’s alright, I understand.” 

He got up with a sigh, and then turned away. “I was the fool for getting my hopes up. I shouldn’t have asked, and I should have just left things as they were.” 

Before he could go anywhere, he was grabbed gently by the wrist.

“Let me finish.” Gregory’s voice was firm, almost sober. “Caligosto, I don’t want to lose you.”

Both surprised and confused, the doctor glanced over his shoulder, peering at him with his strange eyes, like searchlights shifting in the night.

The musician let go of his wrist, and then entwined their fingers together instead. He held on tightly, but not painfully so.

Dr. Loboto joined him on the bench once more, and he pulled him close in the hope it’d stop his hand from trembling. “You won’t,” he replied.

With a shaky sigh, Gregory said back, “No, you don’t understand. I _will_ lose you eventually...”

“No,” the doctor began, using his claw to toy with one of the long curls of hair draped over the man’s ear while leaning in to whisper. “You won’t.”

The ancient psychic’s heart skipped a beat, and a tear began to roll down his gaunt pale cheek because for once, he believed it.

**Author's Note:**

> "I don't know just what went wrong. Those were the days."
> 
> Recommended Listening: Those Were the Days (All in the Family Theme Song)


End file.
